Big Conversations, Strong Connections and a Sold-Out Room at SEC Expo 2026

Last week, AWISE partnered with the Smart Energy Council, Terrapinn Events, Supply Partners and New Energy Training to host the “Power Up” Women in Renewables Breakfast as part of Smart Energy Conference & Exhibition 2026 at ICC Sydney. The event sold out ahead of time and brought together professionals from across the renewable energy sector for a morning that felt energising, thoughtful and genuinely important.

Hosted by board member Lauren Hamilton, his year’s breakfast also marked an exciting milestone for AWISE, with the introduction of three new board members. We’re thrilled for you to meet Annie Atienza, Radhika Gupta and Marlene Brangetto, who each bring a different perspective and experience from across the renewable energy sector.

Both Annie and Marlene addressed the room during the morning, speaking about leadership, participation and the importance of creating an industry culture where more women can see a long-term future for themselves. Radhika Gupta moderated the panel discussion, which shared AWISE’s recent involvement in the Pacific. The panel featured Lily Pejkic and Tamara Smith of It’s Time Foundation, as well as student engineer Amelia Qaluba and Oli Nayago - Industry & Community Liaison Officer for the School of Information Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Physics - both from the University of the South Pacific.

For the first time, the breakfast also brought together the long-running AWISE networking breakfast and the Women in Renewables event previously held alongside Solar & Storage Live, creating a larger and more connected gathering that reflected just how much momentum is building around women’s participation in clean energy across the region.

What stood out most throughout the morning was the honesty of the conversation. Rather than focusing purely on broad ideas around diversity and inclusion, the panel explored the practical realities women continue to navigate within the industry, including access to technical opportunities, visibility on worksites, leadership pathways and the importance of strong professional networks.

There was also a noticeable sense that the conversation itself is evolving. The renewable energy sector is growing quickly, but so too is the appetite for more open discussions about culture, representation and the kinds of workplaces the industry wants to create as it expands. Events like this matter because they create space for those conversations to happen in a way that feels constructive, grounded and connected to the real experiences of people working across the sector every day.

The breakfast formed part of a huge few days at SEC Expo 2026, which once again highlighted the pace of change across renewable energy, battery storage, electrification and energy management throughout Australia and the region. But among all the technology discussions and product launches, the breakfast served as a reminder that the energy transition is ultimately still about people.

AWISE would like to sincerely thank everyone who attended, contributed to the discussion and helped make the morning such a success, along with our event partners Smart Energy Council, Supply Partners and New Energy Training for their support.